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Kaizers Orchestra
Kaizers Orchestra is a Norwegian alternative rock band, founded by Janove Ottesen and Geir Zahl in Bryne, Rogaland, Norway on 1 January 2000. The band consists of Janove Ottesen, Geir Zahl, Terje Winterstø Røthing, Rune Solheim, Øyvind Storesund, and Helge Risa. With their energetic live performances and critically praised recordings, they are amongst the most well-renowned and popular acts in their homeland, and have also gained international sccess and recognition. Their work spans a variety of genres, from gypsy punk to bluegrass to surf rock, and is constantly changing. The lyrical content of their material usually manifests as interconnected stories told through song. Biography Formation and early career (2000-2001) The Kaizers Orchestra project began after the dissolution of gnom, the previous band formed by Janove Ottesen and Geir Zahl. Despite all the effort and time they put into the gnom project, their only studio album, Mys, did not sell, nor did they seem to be able to attain any sort of a fanbase beyond friends and relatives. However, there was song written for the project that was not recorded for the album and had a decidedly different sound than their other offerings; "Bastard", featuring a dissonant sound, a raucous vocal delivery, and bizarre storyteller lyrics similar to that of Tom Waits; lastly, it featured the unusual inclusion of oil barrels beaten by various implements as a form of percussion. Using "Bastard" as a point of reference, Ottesen and Zahl begun composing songs in the same style. The band was officially founded on 1 January 2000, retaining gnom members Rune Solheim, Helge Risa and Jon Sjøen (who had eventually replaced gnom's original bassist Rolf Prestø). The upstart group managed to record the distinct yellow Kaizers Orchestra EP in time for that year's By:larm arrangement; they were never put on the official bill for the arrangement, but managed to find a venue and performed an "unofficial" By:larm concert anyway. As they led a daily struggle to find a gigs and a recording contract, they recorded a demo as a five-piece band that fall. In 2001, Terje Vinterstø joined the band as their now-lead guitarist, upsetting Sjøen who had specifically asked that they not become a "guitar band". After securing a recording contract with Remo Rehder of BroilerFarm, they recorded their first studio album in Duper Studio in Bergen in the spring of 2001 in the span of six days (leaving the seventh and last day "for partying"). The album, Ompa til du dør, was released to outstanding critical praise, but the release party attracted few attendants regardless. Despite their critical praise, they had to work hard and play gigs all over Norway to attain a fanbase; Ompa til du dør slowly climbed to the top of the Norwegian album charts, and would eventually become the best-selling Norwegian rock album of all time. The gas mask, unusual percussion and storyteller lyrics all became synonymous with Kaizers Orchestra in the public eye, and an indelible part of the band's identity. Acclaim and Evig pint (2002-2003) In 2002, Ompa til du dør was awarded the award for "Best Rock Album of 2001" at that the Spellemannprisen award show. They steadily continued to gain fan support, and followed up their success with two EP releases: Død manns tango and Mann mot mann; the former was included in 2CD and vinyl re-releases of Ompa til du dør. Around this time, they began premiering new songs such as "Di grind", "Salt & pepper", and "Djevelens orkester". Their first true exposure to an international audience occurred at Roskilde that very summer; their show-stealing performances made many music business executives take note, and established Denmark as a reliable fanbase. The band members discovered early on, however, that there was little profit to be gained despite their popularity, a reality which have plagued them ever since. In the fall of 2003, they entered the studio again to record their sophomore effort; however, these recording sessions came in the midst of a period of great personal turmoil for most of the band members and their coming to grips with success, and is not fondly remembered by the band. The fruits of their labors, the aptly-titled Evig pint was released on 3 February 2003, and was described as being darker and edgier than their debut. It also attained an overwhelmingly positive critical response, but time did not prove it to be the sales success its predecessor was. Its supporting tour saw them moving to bigger and more popular venues with increased production values, and became a resounding success. What is considered one of their weaker performances (and the victim of unfortunate technical circumstances) was held at the Roskilde Festival that year. Sjøen's departure and Maestro (2004-2005) To begin composing material for their next studio album, Ottesen retreated into the cellar of Mono, a popular hangout in Oslo. Here, he suffered from a temporary writer's block for some time before he managed to come up with "Dieter Meyers Inst.", which would serve as the basis of the "lyrical universe" of their next effort. Jon Sjøen's dissent had been steadily growing ever since the band's foundation, and quit due to personal reasons in 2004. He was promptly replaced with Øyvind Storesund, a man who had substituted for him at several performances he was unable to attend. One of their most memorable concerts of all time was held at Rockefeller on 27 February 2004, and featured a record-breaking setlist considering of 27 songs; part of this performance was recorded and released as the live EP The Gypsy Finale. Around the same time, a 30-track demo was recorded with the new lineup, and they premiered some newly-written songs such as "Medisin & psykiatri", "Tokyo Ice til Clementine", and "På ditt skift" throughout 2004. 12 February 2005 saw the execution of one of the greatest press stunts in Norwegian music history; as part of that year's By:larm arrangement, Kaizers Orchestra performed atop Preikestolen (or "Pulpit Rock"), a 1,982 ft tall natural cliff in southern Norway. The band and their equipment were transported to Preikestolen by helicopter; attendees were forced to hike the long way up to catch the show. Here, they premiered "Blitzregn baby" and "Maestro", the title song of their next album. The stunt saw massive coverage in Norwegian news, as well as both national and international MTV broadcasts. To promote the upcoming album, the Maestro EP was released; around the same time, they were signed to the international Universal Germany label, ensuring re-releases of their previous albums in European countries and financial support. Maestro saw release on 15 August 2005, and became an instant critical and financial success. Its supporting tour became one of the most well-attended; to celebrate the tour, Maestro was re-released with a bonus EP containing previously unreleased material. Their concert at Vega on 6 October was recorded on camera, and the announcement of a live album came shortly thereafter. Live at Vega and sabbatical (2006-2007) On 6 March 2006, Live at Vega was released, featuring the Vega concert almost in its entirety. It received positive reviews, but sales were disappointing; unlike their studio albums, it failed to reach the #1 spot, and dropped out of the charts after only four weeks. The release of the live DVD of the same show, Viva La Vega was delayed a few times before seeing release on 29 May 2006. Apart from the concert, it featured all music videos made up to that point (with the exception of "Mann mot mann", and a video documenting the planning and execution of the Preikestolen concert, among other content. On their official website, the band announced that fall's "Grand Finale Tour", which would see the conclusion of several years of near-continuous touring and performing, leaving all of 2007 as a sabbatical year for Kaizers Orchestra. Despite their announcement, they did perform three concerts in 2007. In the fall of that year, Kaizers Orchestra entered Planet Roc Studios in Berlin, Germany, this time with American Mark Howard co-producing the album with Ottesen. The first single from their upcoming fourth studio album was "Enden av november", released in December of 2007. Maskineri, 250 prosent and Våre demoner (2008-2009) On 18 February 2008, Maskineri was released; critics were, as always, almost unanimously positive, but this would be the first time they had ever seen the level of fan backlash they received. While a sales success, many fans disliked the creative direction in which the band was going, and were not pleased to hear that the band considered it superior to all their earlier work. Furthermore, lessened accentuation of certain band trademarks put a scare on some parts of the fanbase. The supporting tour, while a success, drew much criticism from critics and fans alike directed at the perceived downplaying of audience participation, oil barrels and showmanship. Performances from this tour were recorded with new technology which the band had purchased; select recordings were released as the live compilation album 250 prosent on 13 October 2008. It was released exclusively on vinyl and digitally. Without any previous announcement, Kaizers Orchestra entered the studios again in early 2009; the previous fall's "250 Prosent Tour" during which they had dispensed with their usual setlists in favor of ones composed of songs which had dropped from setlists (if played at all) as time went on, had inspired them to record an album consisting of reworked versions of songs intended for earlier albums. Most of these songs were already known to hardcore fans, who had attained demos and live recordings of these previously unreleased songs. Most notably, "Prosessen", a song which had been recorded for Ompa til du dør but was ultimately nixed due to its "blatant radio-friendliness" was re-recorded and eventually became one of the album's singles. Våre demoner was released on 27 April 2009 in limited quantities; originally, the intention was for the album to be available in stores for exactly a week only for the remaining copies to be retracted, but unforeseen difficulties occurred. An exclusive small tour of intimate venues in Norway followed, where the album was performed in its near-entirety. Plans for a new album were revealed in the fall of 2009, but were not discussed at length. Violeta Violeta (2010-present) In early 2010, Kaizers Orchestra announced a "Studio Tour", the proceedings from which would finance the recording of their next album. Concurrently, they premiered the new songs "Philemon Arthur & The Dung", "Femtakt filosofi", and "Sju bøtter tårer er nok, Beatrice". Just before they embarked on the tour however, they revealed to pleasantly astonished fans that their next album would be a trilogy of lyrically connected albums, to be released in 2011 and 2012. Those who attended Studio Tour performances were given a special mail-in card as part of the ticket price, which they could send to a certain address in order to secure themselves a limited edition version of the first volume of the Violeta Violeta trilogy, as it was now called. With the proceedings from the tour, they booked recording sessions in March 2011, recording the first two volumes of the trilogy at once. "Philemon Arthur & The Dung" was released as a single in August of 2010, and served as a harbinger of the stylistic aesthetics of their upcoming release. The second single, "Hjerteknuser", became the subject of a promotional stunt; the song's official notation was released to the public, and Kaizers Orchestra invited unsigned Norwegian talent to record a cover version of their song. The winner of the contest, Moi, was given permission to release her cover on Kaizers Orchestra's proprietary Kaizerecords label, and perform as a support act for them on one occasion. This promotional tactic garnered much attention and awards from the advertising industry, and Kaizers Orchestra's own version of "Hjerteknuser" became the closest thing they had ever had to a hit single on the radio. Violeta Violeta Vol. I was released to great fanfare on 31 January 2011. On 9 April 2011, Kaizers Orchestra celebrated their ten-year anniversary with a sold-out concert held at Oslo Spektrum, one of Norway's largest performance venues. The entire concert was filmed, and the band promised an upcoming home video release. During the summer of 2011, Kaizers Orchestra premiered Violeta Violeta Vol. II, which was performed in its entirety. Violeta Violeta Vol. II was released on 11 November 2011, sharing its release date with Live i Oslo Spektrum, the recording of the aforementioned concert, which was released on DVD and Blu-ray video formats. Violeta Violeta Vol. III, the third and final installment of their concept album trilogy, was released on 2 November 2012. Around the same time, they also announced an indefinite hiatus for the group as a whole, following a final tour in fall 2013, culminating in eight shows at the DNB Arena in Stavanger. This hiatus was planned as far back as 2007. The group has not indicated when--or even if--they will ever reunite, but at the very least, a number of years of complete inactivity is to be expected. Band members Kaizers Orchestra is a sextet whose members are known by "band aliases" assigned to them by other members of the band. Apart from playing their primary instrument, they also contribute to the music with other talents. Janove "The Jackal" Kaizer Janove Ottesen is the primary songwriter and charismatic frontman of the group. He performs lead vocals on most of their material, as well as his own backing vocals (along with that of his bandmembers) on albums. Although this aspect of his talent does not often surface during live performances, he is multi-instrumental, and can play guitar, piano and other keys, along with drums and other instruments. He frequently uses instruments while composing songs, and has even been known to use oil barrels to accompany his songwriting. Along with Geir, he is the most consistent "face of the group" who is available for interviews and press appearances. According to himself, he is Kaizers Orchestra's greatest fan. Geir "Hellraizer" Kaizer Geir Zahl is the sole secondary songwriter, and plays second guitar for the band. He performs lead vocals on some of his compositions, both live and on albums. Geir describes his own playing style as "social anti-guitar", and believes that Kaizers Orchestra is the only band in which his particular style of playing would fit in. Similarly, his songwriting style is often darker and quirkier than that of his childhood friend Janove. Is part of the "two-man team" who provide percussion on oil barrels onstage, together with Terje. Terje "Killmaster" Kaizer Terje Winterstø Røthing plays lead guitar and provides backing vocals. He was the last member of the original line-up to join, but had played with Ottesen and Zahl on occasion in the past. He is also the frontman of hard rock group Skambankt, where he is known under the pseudonym "Ted Winters", which was able to convert some of Kaizers Orchestra's fanbase and are now among the most popular hard rock acts in Norway; he was handed a one-time guest vocal spot on "D-dagen", in which he uses the recognizable vocal style he uses for Skambankt. Rune "Mink" Kaizer Rune Solheim is the band's drummer and percussionist. He was originally versed in classical jazz drumming, but was forced by Janove to drop this style in favor of the innovative, unusual style that Kaizers Orchestra sought, requiring him to "forget" all he had learned about drumming, and rearrange his drum kit. His nickname was bestowed upon him in reference to his perennially hairy back. Øyvind "Thunder" Kaizer Øyvind Storesund is the band's double bassist. Before joining Kaizers Orchestra, he played in such bands as Cloroform and Wunderkammer. He was brought in to replace Jon Sjøen, who left due to personal reasons. Has a penchant for whistling, which the band used to their advantage in the instrumental "Señor Flamingos adieu and B-side "Tokyo Ice til Clementine". During the Grand Finale Tour, he painted a picture onstage at every performance, which the band would auction off to the highest bidder. Helge "Omen" Kaizer Helge Risa is the band's organist and plays other key instruments as well. He is arguably the most recognizable member of the band when he wears his mask, which has become symbolic of the band itself. Onstage, Helge indulges in various quirky antics such as moving in a mechanical manner and playing around with his mask. He is a devout Christian who does not particularly enjoy the music they make, raising questions within the band itself as to his motives for remaining in the band. Style and lyrical themes At its core, Kaizers Orchestra is, for the most part, guitar-driven alternative rock, with a heavy focus on unusual percussion, pump organ, and the multifaceted vocal stylings of frontman Janove Ottesen. They have augmented this basic style with a variety of genres, from dark cabaret to power pop, opting for a new musical "sound" for every new studio album. The lyrical approach of songwriters Ottesen and Zahl consists of telling interconnected through the perspective of fictional characters, who typically "narrates" the song. Usually, story arcs are contained to one album, though there are exceptions; connections may be found between Ompa til du dør and Evig pint, and the Violeta Violeta trilogy is one continuous arc. Their one exception to this is Maskineri, which diverges from this style to tell cryptic metaphoric stories, whose connections (if any) are vague at best. The lyrics songs from the Violeta Violeta albums appear to combine elements of both these styles. Common themes are revenge, insanity, greed, and murder. A common setting is World War I and its direct aftereffects on the sanity of those who were a part of the conflict. Mafia families and corrupt leadership are also a common element. Discography Studio albums * Ompa til du dør (2001) * ''Evig pint (2003) * Maestro (2005) * Maskineri (2008) * Våre demoner (2009) * ''Violeta Violeta Vol. I (2011) * Violeta Violeta Vol. II (2011) * Violeta Violeta Vol. III (2012) EPs * Kaizers Orchestra EP (2000) * Død manns tango (2002) * Mann mot mann (2002) * The Gypsy Finale (2004) * Maestro EP (2005) * En for orgelet, en for meg (2011) Live albums * Live at Vega (2006) * 250 prosent (2008) * Live i Oslo Spektrum Singles * "Di grind" (2002) * "Kontroll på kontinentet" (2002) * "Knekker deg til sist (2005) * "Christiania" (2005) * "Blitzregn baby (live)" (2006) * "Enden av november" (2007) * "Apokalyps meg" b/w "Du og meg Lou, og din fru" (2008) * "Die Polizei" (2009) * "Prosessen (2009) * "Philemon Arthur & The Dung" (2010) * "Hjerteknuser" (2010) * "Diamant til kull" (2011) * "Tusen dråper regn" (2011) * "Drøm videre Violeta" (2011) Other media * Viva La Vega (2006) * Kontroll på kontinentet (2006) * Sonny (2011) * Live i Oslo Spektrum (2011) External links * Official website * Official fanclub * Official German fanclub Category:Kaizers Orchestra